#ossicles

[notallfay]

So luckily my #foot is not broken, just badly bruised, but I do have an additional #bone that most people don't... But my Dad does. . I have #bird feet, which is a fun thing to find out about. The bone does not do anything or cause harm. It's just some evolutionary throw back. . . . . . . . . . #xray #bones #Ossicles #accesoryOssicles (at Stepping Hill Hospital) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpkS_y7j64s/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thatsbelievable]

Q: My Dog is Eying My Picnic Basket Something Fierce. What Should I Do?

A: The dog instinctively knows that you are a horrible human, and  have taken all the food — literally, ALL OF IT — from him. If you are smart, and value the ossicles in your ears, you will let him have it.

[laurenrakes]

Zbrush model and animation of the middle and inner ear. I hope to add to the animation when I learn After Effects in a few weeks!

[laurenrakes]

Renders from my zbrush animation

[arsongoats]

I want to pop the fucking bones in my ears!!!

[randomspider]

Our ear bones be telling us morse code yo

[15-blade]

Cochlea

[currentsinbiology]

 Ear Ossicles of Modern Humans and Neanderthal Had Different Shape but Similar Function

A research team led by scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology scanned the skulls of Neandertals and found the small middle ear ossicles, which are important for hearing, still preserved within the cavities of the ear. To their surprise, the Neandertal ossicles are morphologically distinct from the ossicles of modern humans. Despite the differences in morphology, the function of the middle ear is largely the same in the two human species. The authors relate the morphological differences in the ossicles to different evolutionary trajectories in brain size increase and suggest that these findings might be indicative of consistent aspects of vocal communication in modern humans and Neandertals. These findings are also of importance for shedding light on the emergence of human spoken language, which can only be inferred indirectly from the archaeological and fossil record.

The three bones of the middle ear (hammer, anvil, stapes) make up the ossicular chain. This bony chain, which is found in all mammals is dedicated to the transmission of sound waves from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear and helps in amplifying the energy of airborne sound in order to allow the sound wave to travel within the fluid-filled inner ear. Moreover, the ear ossicles are not only important for correct hearing but are also the smallest bones of our body. Thus, it does not surprise that the ossicles are among the most rarely found bones in the mammalian fossil record including the one of human ancestors. Given their important role in audition this lack of knowledge has ever been frustrating for researchers interested in studying hearing capacities of extinct species.

“Morphology and function of neandertal and modern human ear ossicles” by Alexander Stoessel, Romain David, Philipp Gunz, Tobias Schmidt, Fred Spoor, and Jean-Jacques Hublin in PNAS. Published online September 26 2016 doi:10.1073/pnas.1605881113

Tympanic membrane (grey), ossicular chain (yellow, green, red), and bony inner ear (blue) of a modern human with a One-Eurocent coin for scale. Neurosciencenews image is credited to A. Stoessel & P. Gunz.